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In Toronto, Muslims offer ‘shelter bus' for the homeless

Aysha Khan

December 24, 2019 |

Religion News Service |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Canada, Toronto, Ontario

Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association Canada and Humanity First Canada teamed up to transform a bus into a mobile shelter for the homeless, complete with 20 beds, a kitchenette, a bathroom, internet, and more. The program is called Shelter Bus and, since launching in December 2019, has served over 1,000 people and reaches up to 50 people a day. The bus has been described as "heaven" by some guests, and they are now planning to have 3 buses by the next year.

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Hartford first city to aid former inmates with Lyft rides

Chris Ehrmann

November 06, 2019 |

Associated Press |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford, Connecticut, in partnership with Lyft and the criminal justice reform group, #cut50, is providing transportation credits to formerly incarcerated individuals. The effort aims to help individuals reentering their communities with a way of getting to places like job interviews and doctors appointments – things that will help them get back on their feet.

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Free For All: Clarke County School District Provides Free Meals to Every Student

Gabriella Audi

October 03, 2019 |

Grady Newsource |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Athens, Georgia

Clarke County School District in Georgia has 21 public schools that all offer free meals to students, regardless of their financial needs. This is facilitated through a federally-funded program, so even though poverty rates are high in the area, local residents are not footing the bill. While there are still some challenges implementing the program, in general it is received well and allows students to focus on their work and well-being instead of being distracted by hunger.

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This Church Found a Brilliant Way to Help Homeless People, and It All Starts with a Mailbox

Monica Humphries

September 30, 2019 |

NationSwell |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, San Jose, California

Providing access to a permanent address allows individuals experiencing homeless to break the “Postal Paradox.” In San Jose, California, individuals without an address can use The Window, a program operated by the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph. The Window serves as a node for those in need—offering a permanent address so they can find work or housing, as well as access to basic necessities and services.

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A new initiative is trying to make searching for tampons easier for Highland Park women. It's part of a national movement.

Karen Berkowitz

September 12, 2019 |

Chicago Tribune |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

In 2013, the United Nations deemed access to menstrual supplies a human right. Since then, Illinois has taken a number of steps to make access to these products even easier. This story includes solutions such as free dispensers in public restrooms, eliminating the "luxury" or "tampon" tax, and drives to collect pads and tampons for low-income and homeless women.

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Got a parking ticket? In some cities, you can pay for it with school supplies or cat food.

Marisa Iati

August 13, 2019 |

The Washington Post |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Muncie, Indiana

Across the United States, cities are letting residents pay off their parking tickets with donations to local organizations. For set periods of time, cities like Muncie and Las Vegas write off traffic tickets – as long as they aren’t related to public safety – when residents donate things like cat food to the local cat shelter, or school supplies to educational organizations. The initiatives have been such a success that people from around the country are sending in their donations, even without the trade-off of a paid parking ticket.

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Campus Thrift Stores

Nick Fiorellini

July 03, 2019 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Annadale-on-Hudson, New York

Recycling and repurposing second hand items helps to reduce a community’s carbon footprint. At Bard College in New York, the FreeUse Store collects second hand items from students and redistributes them free of charge to members of the community. Run by the university’s Office of Sustainably, the program provides a model for using campus bins to recycle textiles and other items to reduce landfill use.

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In Uganda, Threatened Chimps Find Protection in Former Poachers

Michele Catanzaro

May 01, 2019 |

Undark |

Multi-Media |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Uganda, Budongo forest

In Western Uganda’s Budongo forest, the Budongo Conservation Field Station is saving chimpanzees by giving poachers the opportunity to do something different. The organization operates on two levels: First, employing former poachers to help scour the forest in search of traps, and second, by giving poachers goats in an effort to provide them with enough livelihood to stop poaching.

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Some states reuse tons of unused prescription drugs; Maine burns them

Jon Chrisos

April 29, 2019 |

WGME-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Iowa

Every year, unused medications are thrown away costing states millions of dollars. A program in Iowa that has now spread to other states throughout the nation is tackling this issue by recycling and repurposing these drugs so that they can be distributed to populations that wouldn't otherwise be able to access them.

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The library of things: could borrowing everything from drills to disco balls cut waste and save money?

Leo Benedictus

April 24, 2019 |

The Guardian |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: England, Oxford

From London to Vancouver, across the globe libraries of things are popping up to rent out common, but rare-to-use, household objects. Items include telescopes, lawn mowers, ice cream makers, power drills, you name it. These volunteer-led shops take reservations online and lease the items at no or low-cost to the user, all while strengthening the sharing economy and reducing waste.

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